Most folks aren't aware that the Creature from the Black Lagoon made two cover appearances on Archie comics in the early 60s: Jughead #79 and Laugh #130. Ten or so years ago, low grade copies could be found at reasonable prices. These days, when they do turn up, the prices are outrageous. Hence, I don't have either of those in my collection.
I am the proud owner of a recent homage cover variant from a new Archie horror comic, Judgment Day. Unfortunately, I missed out on the 1st edition, which was limited to 50 copies (and an additional 25 'metal' copies that were only available in a two-pack bundle), but I was able to pick up one of the 2nd edition (limited to 75 copies) for the collection.
I would be remiss not to include the original Creature cover for comparison (note the absence of body parts — thanks a lot, Comics Code!):
Here's the back of the homage variant, with a nice foil label with the statement of limitation:
And just for laughs (Laugh?), here's the Creature's 2nd original Archie cover appearance:
Be here next week for yet another oddity from my Creature collection!
